Warship to Be Commissioned at Port Hueneme

A new Navy warship named after a Seabee slain during a terrorist hijacking will be commissioned at Port Hueneme’s Naval Construction Battalion Center in October, Navy officials announced Wednesday.

The guided-missile destroyer, under construction at Pascagoula, Miss., was named in memory of Steelworker 2nd Class Robert Dean Stethem.

Stethem, a Navy diver, was beaten and shot to death by Arab terrorists when their demands were not met during the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 to Beirut in 1985.

After the brutal assault, his body was tossed from the plane and lay for hours on the Tarmac.

“The Seabees at Port Hueneme are honored that the crew of the USS Stethem has selected Port Hueneme as the location for the commissioning,” said Capt. John Doyle, executive officer of the Seabee base.

The 504-foot-long Aegis-class destroyer, to have a home port of San Diego, will be commissioned during an Oct. 21 ceremony on the Navy docks next to the deep-water port.

The Port Hueneme base is one of two major Seabee centers in the United States, but Stethem never served there.

“We’ve never had a ship named after a Seabee and we’ve never had one commissioned here,” said Doris Lance, a base spokeswoman. “This is a prestigious event.”

Navy officials have formed a special committee to make the invitations and other arrangements.